Survivors Of Wreck Brought On Shore

But They Now Face Deportation Actions

The 11 migrants who survived the capsizing of an overloaded boat were brought ashore and into custody Friday afternoon after two days on a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

The survivors were transferred to U.S. Border Patrol and will be processed for "expedited removal," said Assistant Chief Victor Colon of the Miami Sector Border Patrol.

The 11 were part of an ill-fated voyage of possibly more than 30 people, mostly Haitians, who left Bimini together on Tuesday. Their boat capsized early Wednesday morning, but the first survivors were not found until at least 11 hours later off Boynton Beach. The boat likely was part of a human smuggling operation, officials have said.

In addition to those held on the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter, another five who needed medical attention were sent to local hospitals. Nine others, including a baby girl, died.

Ermanie Lubin of North Miami thanked God on Friday afternoon after learning that her nephew Guepson Lubin, 28, had survived the journey.

"This is a blessing, This is a blessing," said Lubin, filled with emotion.

Lubin has a wife, who is a U.S. citizen, and a 4-year old son in Orlando. He lived for more than 10 years between Orlando and Miami, but was deported in 2007 after his political asylum was denied.

Jim Lubin, a cousin, said after what Guepson has been through to get here he shouldn't be sent back. "It's not fair. This is supposed to be the country of the free.'

The Florida Immigration Advocacy Center wrote letters Thursday and Friday to the Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to Immigration and Customs Enforcement asking the agencies to bring the 11 migrants on shore.

"Conditions on a Coast Guard cutter are clearly not conducive to conducting a criminal investigation," read the advocacy's Friday letter. "Victims of smuggling are traumatized and terrified. They don't know who to trust and may fear retribution from the smugglers."

It was the right decision to bring them on land, said Cheryl Little, advocacy center executive director. She expects the migrants to be processed and then brought to the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach.

"The goal now is to find out exactly what happened and to bring the smugglers to justice," she said.

At the same time, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office completed autopsies of the nine and turned over those reports to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Tony Mead, medical examiner spokesman. The office is awaiting toxicology results, which could take up to 14 weeks, before determining causes of death.

The medical examiner's office declined to release the identities of those who died or a breakdown by age or gender. Only one of the dead had any identification, Mead said, and officials were working to find local relatives.

"We'd like to get them identified as soon as possible," he said.

Callers from Haiti have been asking about survivors, said Jean Lafortune, chairman of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition in Miami.

"We still have a lot of members looking for loved ones," he said.

Gens Flermont doesn't know if his son Elson Flermont survived the journey. His name was not on the initial list of survivors released Friday.

"I've been crying all day," he said from activist Bob-Louis Jeune's office in Lake Worth. Flermont, of Lantana, said his son had been in the Bahamas visiting family. A friend called to tell him his son was on the boat.

"People are calling from the Bahamas for information, but we don't know anything yet," Jeune said.

Officials are being tight-lipped about details of the migrants who died because of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation, likely into human smuggling. Haitians spend $2,000-$4,000 per person to come to the U.S. from their homeland, which has been ravaged by severe weather and civil unrest.